Let the .landgrab begin!
Proposals for Internet addresses ending in ".pizza," ".space" and ".auto" are among the nearly 2,000 submitted as part of the largest expansion in the online address system -- each application costing a whopping $185,000.
Apple, Sony and American Express are among companies that are seeking names with their brands. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced the proposals at a news conference in London on Wednesday. The bulk of the proposals came from North America and Europe.

The public can now comment and raise objections, such as trademark violations.
If approved, the new suffixes would rival ".com" and about 300 others now in use -- making this the largest expansion of the Internet address system since its creation in the 1980s.
One day, you might go to "comedy.YouTube" rather than "YouTube.com/comedy." Yep, .YouTube was applied for, as well as .Yahoo, .webcam, .weather and more -- thousands more.
HOW THE INTERNET WILL GET NEW DOMAIN NAME SUFFIXES
A list of some 2,000 proposals for new Internet address suffixes as released Wednesday, representing hobbies, ethnic groups, corporate brand names and more.
Here's how it will work:
THE APPLICATIONS: The system opened in January. Applicants had to answer 50 questions due by May 30 -- the deadline was extended due to a technical glitch.
THE COST: Each application cost $185,000. If approved, fees run to $25,000 a year.
THE CHALLENGES: After ICANN announces the suffixes, the public will have 60 days to comment on trademark violations or offensive items.
THE REVIEW: ICANN will review each application to make sure its financial plan is sound and that contingencies exist in case a company goes out of business, which could take up to 20 months.
THE LAUNCH: Once a suffix gets approved, the applicant will have to set up procedures for registering names under that suffix and computers to keep track of them.
But there's a catch: The suffixes are restricted to the richest companies and groups, who paid $185,000 per proposal. If approved, each suffix would cost at least $25,000 a year to maintain, with a 10-year commitment required. By comparison, a personal address with a common suffix such as ".com" usually costs less than $10 a year.
It'll take at least a year or two for the first of these new suffixes to win approval and appear in use. And some of them never will if they are found to violate trademarks or are deemed offensive.
Others will be delayed as competing bidders quarrel for easy-to-remember words such as ".web." When multiple applications seek the same suffix, ICANN will encourage parties to work out an agreement. ICANN will hold an auction if the competing bidders fail to reach a compromise.